Rays 6, Yankees 3

July 02, 2014|Reuters

Rays 6, Yankees 3: Sean Rodriguez slammed a mammoth tiebreaking homer and drove in three runs as visiting Tampa Bay wrapped up a three-game sweep of slumping New York.

Ben Zobrist collected three hits, red-hot Logan Forsythe added two hits and scored twice and Brandon Guyer was 2-for-3 with an RBI as the Rays extended their winning streak to five games and sent the Yankees to their fifth consecutive defeat. Jake Odorizzi (4-7) allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings and three relievers bridged the gap to Brad Boxberger, who got the final three outs for his first save of the season.

Brett Gardner went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs and Brian McCann had a solo shot for New York, which dropped below .500 for the first time since April 11. Vidal Nuño (2-5) was charged with four runs - three earned - on eight hits in five-plus innings as the Yankees lost for the ninth time in 11 games.

Forsythe led off the sixth inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to five games and end Nuno's day in favor of Shawn Kelley, who was greeted by Rodriguez's towering two-run blast to left-center that was estimated at 445 feet. Rodriguez also had a run-scoring single in the fourth and Guyer delivered an RBI single in the fifth to tie it at 3-3.

On a day when New York honored Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, Gardner led off the first with a blast into the second deck in right, matching his career high of eight homers set last year. McCann homered into the seats in right in the third, atoning for his passed ball that brought home a run in the top of the inning.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Forsythe had his fifth straight multiple-hit game and is 11-for-21 in that span while improving to 20-for-44 in his last 12. ... Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira was not in the lineup after having fluid drained from his left knee while CF Jacoby Ellsbury got the day off because manager Joe Girardi said he is "kind of beat up." ... RHP Joel Peralta made his 266th appearance with the Rays, tying Esteban Yan for the most in franchise history for Tampa Bay, which continues its 11-game road trip Thursday in Detroit while the Yankees head to Minnesota to open an 11-game trek.